Brilliance
by The Flame and Hawk's Eye
Summary: It was something Roy knew was an inevitability in their world. If color was brought into one's life, it would eventually be taken away. That was both the blessing and curse of finding one's soulmate. It was an inevitability… but Roy did not think that it would happen like this; where he was helpless and unable to do anything to prevent it. A Brotherhood-based soulmate AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** _Written based on a prompt by follow-royai-into-hell on Tumblr, the prompt being: A person's world is black and white until they meet their soulmate and then when you lose your soulmate, your world returns to black and white. This will have a twist in the second chapter, however._

* * *

It was something Roy knew was an inevitability in their world. If color was brought into one's life, it would eventually be taken away. That was both the blessing and curse of finding one's soulmate. It was an inevitability… but Roy did not think that it would happen like this; where he was helpless and unable to do anything to prevent it.

He screamed her rank again, begging her to hold on.

"I won't die," she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm under strict orders… not to die."

He wanted so badly to believe her words, to grasp them and know them as truth; but the progressively darkening world around him instilled within him a seed of doubt.

Hair once blonde had now begun to lose its shine and luster; skin once fair was now ashen and grey. And the blood… The puddle of blood – her own blood- she had collapsed in had slowly begun to darken.

Desperate to cling to what color remained, he zeroed in on the one color that was left - the chocolate brown of her eyes - and held her unwavering glare. When she saw that she had his attention, her dark eyes moved to the ceiling above her before moving back to meet his.

Her message was clear and it left an inkling of hope in his heart; enough to push the doubt that took root within him to the backburner.

He just needed to hold and follow their orders and wait… Despite watching the colors of his world, his everything, bleed out before his very eyes.

* * *

 _Had Roy Mustang known that his life would have drastically changed that day, he probably would have worn something a little less drab, a little more pleasing to the eye. After all, it was the least she deserved…_

 _Because the moment Riza Hawkeye opened the door to her father's home, Roy's world, and hers, suddenly changed._

 _He would oftentimes recall it as an explosion of prismatic blotches that danced across his eyes, like kaleidoscopic embers dissolving an invisible veil that had been in place for the entirety of his life._

 _Her perception, she would later begin to describe, was much more subtle; with hues and shades of colors slowly weaving their way through her field of vision until they at last blended together into a polychromatic medley._

 _But not matter how they described it, one thing was certain: Their worlds were suddenly bathed with a multitude of colors and hues, shades and tones they had only heard of from those that could witness the entire color spectrum. This was oftentimes described as the pinnacle of a person's life. Never had he expected to experience it that day._

 _Their awe, however, was short-lived. Because moments after this destiny-altering event happened, Berthold Hawkeye stepped into view and made his presence known, interrupting the pair's relative shock._

 _Hawkeye must have seen the stars in Roy's eyes because his initial greeting was far less enthusiastic than Roy had expected it to be. Swallowing his surprise, Roy immediately shoved his hand toward the older man and stammered, "It's a pleasure to finally be able to study under you—"_

" _You're late," Hawkeye grumbled as he turned away from the door and stalked back into the house. When Roy did not immediately follow, he threw a glance over his shoulder that demanded Roy follow._

 _Reaching down and clutching the handles of his suitcase, Roy stepped inside and closed the door behind him, trying his hardest to not allow his eyes to stray too far from the man, though it proved to be extremely challenging._

" _Riza," Hawkeye growled huskily, "Show the boy to his room at once."_

" _Yes, Father," the girl, Riza, replied as she looked away from him and toward the floor, keeping her attention on anything but Roy._

 _Her father dwelled for a moment, staring critically down at her. When her eyes moved up to look him in head on, he gave his head a firm shake before shuffling to one of the rooms toward the back of the house, without so much as throwing another glance back over his shoulder._

 _With the man's back turned, Roy instantly zeroed in on the girl in question, lapping up as much of her presence as he could. She wasn't looking at him, her eyes glued to her father's back as he lumbered away._

 _She seemed so… Unresponsive to what had just happened. As if she hadn't experienced what he just had. A lump began to form in Roy's throat. He had heard stories like this before, though rare as they may be. Almost one-hundred percent of the time, the colors appeared instantaneously when two soulmates locked eyes. Sometimes, however, the colors never appeared, and the connection between two people is never truly established. As if one person's destiny depended on the other, but the second person did not necessarily depend on the first._

 _When she finally turned toward him, her eyes widened for a split second, as if seeing him in an entirely different light. Swallowing the lump that had formed, Roy tried to say something, but was cut off when the spark in her eyes vanished, an expression of calm washing over her features._

 _Clasping her hands in front of her, she murmured, "Right this way, Mr. Mustang," before turning on her heels and heading in the opposite direction of her father._

 _Roy obeyed and followed behind her, now free to take in what he was seeing to his heart's content. He wondered what colors he was witnessing. He knew some differences between reds and greens, or blues and purples, but he was never able to distinguish them as well as some other Colorblinds._

 _Something inside of him nagged at him, however, telling him that the colors he was witnessing were nothing brilliant, nothing special. Or, at least, that they were nothing like hers._

 _When his eyes gravitated back to her, his heart leapt in his chest. Something inside of him screamed for him to pay special notice, to focus on the intensity of the hues that defined her. Without being able to connect the names with the colors he was witnessing, Roy was struggling. He didn't know what to think, how to react. All he knew was that all of her colors caused him to be filled with a sense of warmth and comfort…_

 _He nearly ran into her when she abruptly stopped outside one of the doors that lined the hallway. Seemingly ignoring his stumble, she quickly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, stepping into the middle of the room. Keeping her eyes on the wall behind Roy as he stepped into the room she murmured, "This is your room. Dinner will be at five tonight," before taking a step forward to move around him._

" _Wait!" She stopped, casting him a sideways glance. Seeing that he had her attention, he exhaled nervously and uttered, "Do you… Do you see them too?"_

 _She paused for a moment, as if considering whether or not she wanted to answer. Then she gave him a sharp nod before taking a step toward the door._

 _His heart leapt in his chest again. So it wasn't one of those rare instances. This girl was his… "Don't you want to talk about—"_

" _No. I don't," she replied bluntly as she attempted to step around him. "I'd prefer to leave it be."_

"' _Leave it be,'" Roy practically cried. "Riza, how can we not talk about the fact that our view of the world has suddenly changed? Don't you know what this means?!" Maybe she didn't understand the gravity of it all. Maybe she didn't know the true significance of what had just happened…_

" _I do," she answered as her dark eyes, 'brown' he would later learn, narrowed. "And so does he."_

" _He? You mean your father," he asked as he furrowed his brows._

 _She nodded. "If he catches wind about what happened, he'll have you on a train back to Central before you could even process how you ended up there."_

" _He would," Roy mused. When she nodded, he asked, "Why? You don't think he'd be understanding?"_

 _She nearly laughed, shaking her head as she said, "If you have those beliefs, then you don't know my father, so I'll give you a crash course: You are here to learn Flame Alchemy, not woo the daughter of its master. As long as you keep that goal in mind, you will gain the knowledge you seek."_

 _Roy swallowed thickly. "And what about after I learn everything? What then?"_

 _She thought about it for a moment, mulling over his words as she once again looked away from him, seemingly taking interest in the swirls and blends of colors of the hardwood floors. Then she looked back up at him and shrugged her shoulders. "It depends on whether or not you can keep silent about what just happened…"_

" _O-okay," he replied as she stepped around him and headed toward the door. But before turning the corner and disappearing, she paused in the doorway and looked back at him – truly taking in his appearance for the first time._

" _I hope you do choose to remain silent…," she murmured as her eyes finally rested on his._

" _I will," he blurted almost immediately as he felt hope swell within him. Fate had decided that she was his and he was hers… and he'd be damned if he screwed it up._

 _The color on her cheeks deepened as she gave him a sharp nod in reply before quickly stepping around the corner and out of sight, leaving him alone to take in the new world around him._

* * *

 _After a few weeks of avoiding getting anymore curious looks from Berthold Hawkeye, Roy was confident that he and Riza had perfected the art of keeping their stares and expressions of awe at every new tone they saw to a minimum. They had gotten so confident, in fact, that after Roy had been there for two months, they began to try and make sense of their new world together._

 _They would steal away into one of their rooms during the night's darkest hours with nothing more than a candle and book Riza had found when she had run to town for supplies one weekend. Huddled together around the light, they would flip through the brightly colored pages of the book, pointing out the various hues and the names associated with them._

" _This one here," Roy said as he stopped on the page labeled 'red.' "That's the color of the dress you wore that day."_

" _You remember it?"_

 _He looked up to see that she seemed genuinely surprised._

 _With a sheepish grin, he shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Of course I do. How could I forget?" When she shook her head, he asked, "Do you remember what I wore?"_

 _Her cheeks flushed and she looked back down at the book again, flicking through the pages of the book until she came to a page that was specifically labeled 'brown.' Glancing back up at him, she mumbled, "It was that brown sweater of yours."_

 _When he wrinkled his nose, she shot him a curious look. Shaking his head, he said, "Now that I know what it actually looks like, I'm not a huge fan. I can't believe my aunt let me wear that."_

" _Oh," she said as she looked back down at the book in her lap, her expression softening as she brushed her fingers over the brown palette on the page. "I think it looks nice on you."_

 _This time it was Roy's turn to blush. Averting his eyes away from hers, he looked down at the brown page and studied it for a few moments. "Well then," he said as he glanced back up at her and smiled, "I'll have to wear it more often."_

* * *

" _Think of it like this," Havoc tried to explain, "Imagine the warmth you feel every time you produce a flame. That's kind of what red and orange and yellow are like. They're all described as warm colors."_

" _Is that so," Roy replied, half-listening to Havoc's explanation as he tried to steal a glance at his First Lieutenant, who had chosen to look away for the moment, having heard the story and explanations multiple times already._

 _Of course, the two of them already knew nearly every shade under the sun, having studied them together for years. But for the team's sake and theirs, their ability to see the colors of the world around them was only known between the two of them. And because of their positions, they intended to keep it that way._

 _The concept of color was still fairly new to the Second Lieutenant, having only been able to see them for a few weeks or so. Who would have thought that Riza's best friend, Rebecca Catalina, was the one for Havoc?_

 _They had heard the story nearly a dozen times by now. 'I just saw her and then 'bam!' Colors everywhere'… or something along those lines. By that time the rest of men had grown tired of it, though Roy wouldn't admit that he actually enjoyed hearing Havoc's countless recountings of that time. After all, it reminded him of how he and Riza met._

 _It was that same warmth Havoc was describing that he felt pool in his chest that day, and every time he looked at her. Between the coral-red sweater she wore and the golden blonde color of her hair, his first experience seeing color was akin to having a flame ignited within him that was fed every time his eyes fell upon her._

 _He never knew, however, that those colors, those brilliant reds and golds he had grown to love, would be turned against him…_

* * *

When the doctor disappeared into the tubing and pipes above, Roy knew he only had one shot to get away… And get to her. Using the rejected Fuhrer candidates' shock to his advantage, he twisted his arm and grabbed the blade in one of their hands, thrusting it through the man's neck. Feeling their grips loosen, he dashed forward and broke free from them, racing through the mayhem toward her with his arm outstretched.

There was still that light in her eyes, and he would be damned if he let anymore color bleed away. He would get to her and—

A force suddenly crashed into Roy's side, slamming him to the ground and knocking the wind from his lungs. Disoriented and confused, he tried to lift himself up, only to find that a massive weight was on his chest. Blinking away the stars that had sprung in front of his eyes, he looked up to see a dark figure hovering above him, its feet planted firmly on his chest. Tossing his head to the side, he tried to find that mess of blonde hair he had zeroed in on before… and nearly overlooked her as the stars, and colors, continued to fade from his vision, blending her hair and body into the floor as the chaos raged on around her.

Before he could attempt to struggle against the weight, a piercing pain suddenly shot through his arms, causing him to cry out in anguish. Instinctively rolling his head back to try and identify the source of the pain, he was greeted by Fuhrer Bradley's smug grin.

Seeing that he had Roy's attention, he twisted the blades that penetrated Roy's palms, causing him to scream in pain. Obviously enjoying this, Bradley pressed harder on Roy's sternum and leaned over to see him more clearly. His paled face inches from Roy's, Bradley muttered, "We finally have our last human sacrifice."

"I told the old man before and I'll say it again," Roy spat venomously. "I will _not_ perform human transmutation."

Bradley scoffed. "Such a shame… Seeing that you were given the opportunity to perform it in exchange for her life. Now, however, you will be left with no consolation for completing it."

"What—" Tearing his eyes away from Bradley, Roy saw that the turmoil around him had come to an abrupt halt, the remaining Fuhrer candidates placing themselves between Riza and their comrades, leaving her in the middle of the floor, the sticky black liquid continuing to flow from her wounds, soaking the ground beneath her.

They were in a stalemate, both sides locked in a state of tension so palpable and heavy that it added to the burden on his chest. The enemy was waiting… Holding their ground as if waiting for the last remnants of color to bleed from his vision.

"I can see the panic and fear in your eyes. Your reaction alone has all but confirmed it for me," Bradley sneered. "We were right in assuming that she was the one."

With a strangled cry, Roy frantically writhed beneath the Fuhrer's weight and pushed against the blades that pierced his hands, running them deeper through his palms.

The corners of Bradley's lips curled upward. "It's far too late for struggling now, Colonel Mustang. You aren't going anywhere."

A beat after Bradley uttered those words, a pressure surrounded his ankles and wrists, small tendrils of black lacing themselves around him and the area surrounding him, creating a barrier between the Fuhrer candidates and their allies once again. Jerking his head around, he saw Selim Bradley step out of the darkness, a dark tendril woven around and suffocating the gold-toothed doctor.

The doctor's offset eyes immediately moved down to the intricate design around Roy and he began to struggle against the Homunculus's impossibly tight grip.

"Step away, Wrath," Pride commanded as his shadows finished weaving their design. "I have secured him."

With one final smirk, Bradley obeyed. When he stepped off of Roy's chest and slowly pulled the blades from his palms, Roy clenched his teeth and hissed, further broadening the sickening grin on the Fuhrer's face.

With Bradley's weight off of his chest, Roy was allowed a tiny fraction of movement. Using this to his advantage, he managed to lift his head and find his Lieutenant – Riza's – eyes.

He held her focus, keeping his eyes locked on hers once more. In that short span of time, the shades of brown that dappled her eyes had begun to lose their brilliance, losing the depth they once had. But some color still remained, so he clung to that notion…

Fighting against the shadows that constrained him, Roy tried to reach out toward her as she did the same, sliding the hand that she had originally used to prop her body up in Roy's direction, still clutching her torn neck with the other.

His view of her was blocked a moment later as Bradley stopped next to her and watched as she clawed at the ground, trying to pull herself over to Roy.

She stopped for a moment to focus her cold and focused glare on him, silently damning the Fuhrer for his role in Roy's capture.

"I've always wondered what a painted world would look like," he mused. "Seeing that the colors my wife experiences are induced through a perfectly crafted form of alchemy.

"I had once envied you humans for experiencing it until I realized what that entailed." Looking up at Roy, he continued, "I don't know how I'd feel if my wife perished before I, plunging my once vibrant world into one of darkness and cold.

"It must be unbearable for you right now… Watching the colors and hues that once lit up your world die along with her."

Feeling his anger and despair consume him, Roy roared as he struggled against his restraint.

Bradley only smirked in response and looked back down at Riza, watching as she tore her eyes away from him and toward Roy again. Before she could advance further in her struggle to get to Roy, however, when Bradley lifted his foot and slammed the heel onto her outstretched hand, eliciting a muted and weak wail from her.

"Lieutenant," he yelled as he began to twist and writhe against Selim's shadows once again. "Hold on, please! Just hold—" He stopped, however, when her expression softened, the confidence she wore reducing itself to a look of sorrow as her muscles began to relax… and the last vestige of colors began to bleed away.

Then he was screaming, calling her name and begging, _pleading_ , for her to stay. To hold on. To—

The ground beneath him began to shudder as a light surrounded him – the beginnings of a transmutation. As the light grew brighter, it illuminated everything around him, including Riza. His eyes widening in despair at what he saw, he opened his mouth to cry out once more, but was halted when the transmutation fully activated… and tore him apart.

* * *

Suddenly he was falling. Falling from that expansive white abyss into a sea of darkness. His plunge did not last long, however. Moments after he was dragged through the portal that black and white beast planted behind him, he hit solid ground, knocking the air from his lungs and causing him to gasp with pain.

"Colonel!"

His eyes flew open, but the darkness remained. Ignoring the pain in his hands and back, Roy pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and began to frantically look around. He recognized the voice, but it wasn't the one he wanted to hear.

"Mustang," Edward quipped as a hand rested on Roy's back. "Are you alright?!"

"No," Roy snapped as he began to feel around for something to help him stand. "I need to go back. The Lieutenant—"

"How did you get here," Edward demanded. "What happened?"

"Why is it so dark in here," Roy snarled as he clambered to his feet. "I need light! I have to know!" When he took a step forward, the toe of his boot caught on something and he fell onto his hands and knees again.

"Mustang—"

"You don't understand," he snapped as he began to grope around for something to grab to hoist himself up again. "I need light… I NEED TO SEE!"

He had to see. He needed to. Because in those final moments before he was plunged into a world of _only_ black and white, his world, his colors, had been completely erased.

* * *

 **A/N:** _This little fic will have either one or two more chapters, and then will have two additional one-shots, one that will be Royai and the other will be Edwin, so that I explore this universe a little more._

 _Let me know what you think! Thank you for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** _Sorry this took so long! I'm hoping to work on the rest of my fics and have them updated by the end of my winter break. Per usual, please let me know if anything is rushed or OOC. There will be one "chapter" to this that will loosely correlate with the former two, in which Riza confronts Lust! Enjoy~!_

* * *

" _I knew it…"_

 _Whirling around, Roy saw Edward Elric standing beyond his desk, his brow quirked._

 _Straightening himself, Roy matched the teen's expression and asked, "Know what exactly, Fullmetal?"_

 _A smirk touched the youth's lips. "I had my suspicions before, but you've all but confirmed it for me." Extending his hand, he pointed at the two file folders on Roy's desk – one green, the other red – and said, "There's no way a Colorblind would be able to tell the difference between those two folders. And yet you seem to have had no trouble telling one from the other."_

 _Roy scoffed and set the folder in his hand down on the desk. "You forget, Fullmetal, that there are tables on the tabs of these folders. Anyone with the ability to read would be able to distinguishing between the two."_

 _Edward shook his head. "No, it was too automatic an action and the tabs are flipped downward," he pointed out._

 _Roy tried his best to push down the exasperated expression that wanted so badly to cross his face. There wasn't a way of 'telling'; it was all a matter of whether or not someone admitted to it. He could try to deny the notion again and again with that in mind, but the longer he looked into those knowing golden eyes, the more he realized that the young man would not budge on his stance._

 _He shrugged his shoulders, trying his best to convey a sense of nonchalance. "Having the ability to see color isn't that big a deal, Fullmetal," he said as he picked up the folders and tapped them methodically on the desk before setting them back down again._

" _Well, sure it is," the youth replied, his tone a little more lax than before. "It means that you've found the other half of your soul."_

 _Roy looked up at the boy and raised a brow. When Edward saw this, his face reddened slightly. Casting his glance away from Roy's, he focused on a spot over the superior officer's shoulder and explained, "That's the way my mother put it, anyways. To have a world filled with color and splendor was the equivalent of finding your other half." Shrugging his shoulders, he appeared to try and fight his ruddy cheeks by adding, "It's kinda stupid, but it makes sense."_

" _No," Roy mused as he leaned back in his chair, "It does make sense."_

 _Edward then turned his eyes back toward Roy and said, "You're trying to change the subject. All I want to know is the truth."_

 _Feeling agitated once again, Roy muttered, "I don't see what the big deal is, Fullmetal. So what if I can see colors or not? It doesn't change anything."_

 _The boy gave him a disapproving huff as he shoved his hands into his pockets and began to turn away. "Fine, whatever," he replied, "It was stupid to even bring it up."_

 _Seeing the young boy's demeanor change, Roy's irritation subsided, only to be replaced with curiosity. Just as Edward was about to make his way toward the door, Roy sighed. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he mumbled, "Alright Fullmetal. I can see them…" Edward turned toward him, his expression still hardened and challenging. When he didn't say anything else, Roy added, "So now you know. Are you happy?"_

" _I didn't ask about it to make me happy," he grumbled. "I just figured I'd take the load off of you, is all."_

"' _Take the load off,'" Roy echoed._

" _Yeah," the youth replied, "It sucks being the only one that can see when the rest of the world is black and white to everyone else around you. Being able to talk about it helps. Figured I'd help take the weight of the world off a bit."_

 _Glancing back up at the clock, Roy saw that it was still half past noon. Meaning that the men were still on lunch for another hour… "Alright," he said at last as he gestured toward the couch in front of his desk, "If you want to talk, then talk."_

 _Seemingly surprised by his response, Edward paused. After Roy raised a brow, however, he quickly turned on his heels and made his way around the sofa, sinking into the middle of it moments later. After crossing his ankle over his knee, Edward spread his arms out over the back of the couch and said, "So how long has it been for you?"_

 _Roy shrugged his shoulders. "About ten years or so, give or take."_

 _Edward's eyes widened. "That long? And yet you still refused to tell anyone? Who is it that—" He stopped, no doubt seeing Roy's eyes automatically drift over to Riza's empty desk. He immediately changed his tone and uttered, "I see…"_

" _The matter is complicated," he muttered._

" _No shit," Edward replied as he shot Riza's desk another look. His eyes still focused on it, he continued, "Do you ever think of just quitting? So that you could be with her?"_

" _No," Roy said as he shook his head, prompting Edward to shoot him a perplexed look. "I don't… And neither does she."_

 _Puzzled, the youth asked, "But isn't that how the universe works? Two people are matched and they end up together?"_

 _Again Roy shook his head. "Sometimes it doesn't work out that way. You could be matched in accordance to the way the universe dictates it, but it will ultimately depend on the two people involved. There have been cases where two people have not pursued anything further and instead chose others to spend their lives with. After a while the colors fade, and their worlds are black and white again." When Edward's face twisted with distaste, Roy elaborated, "It only ever happens under extraordinary circumstances. I'm telling you this as an example that fate doesn't always fall into place."_

 _Edward's frown deepened. "I didn't know that," he admitted._

" _Like I said, it's generally a rare circumstance, but it is something that someone should know." Feeling a playful smile form, Roy added, "And it gives you an 'out' in case you and the Rockbell girl discover you won't be able to stand living under the same roof for the rest of your lives."_

 _Edward's face instantly flushed at the mention of his childhood friend. According to his loose-lipped younger brother, the two of them were able to see the world's colors from a very young age, highly suggesting that their fates were intertwined. Averting his eyes from Roy, he muttered, "I don't remember the discussion being about me and Winry."_

" _Well, you did say you wanted someone to talk to."_

" _My intentions were to give_ you _someone to talk to," Edward grumbled as the color of his cheeks deepened, "Not the other way around."_

 _Roy felt his face soften. It was unusual seeing the normally confident, no-nonsense boy so flustered. But then again, could Roy expect any less from him when his soulmate was put in the spotlight. "You're right," he replied as he shook his head, "I apologize."_

" _It's fine," the youth muttered as he leaned back in his chair again. "Now what else were you going to—" He was cut off, however, when the door to Roy's office was opened, and his other subordinates began to file in._

 _When Edward turned back toward him, Roy exhaled and shrugged his shoulders before rising to his feet to greet his men. Before he tore his eyes away from him, however, Roy gave the young boy a few parting words. "I suppose it's just one of those rare circumstances, where fate doesn't always get to decide. But as long as she is happy with this arrangement, then I will be too."_

* * *

The Colonel had never spoken of that day again, and only rarely discussed the notion of soulmates with Edward when he had initiated it. But after that conversation, Edward supposed there was never a need to talk about it with the Colonel. He said enough without having to say anything.

Because after that Edward began to watch the two of them more closely, noticing their split second glances and looks toward each other when they didn't think anyone else was watching. He saw the longing in their eyes every time they stole a glance at the other, as well as the pain. Always within reach of the one the universe had decided they were destined to be with, but never being able to fully seize them.

A rare circumstance indeed…

When Edward looked back down at the Colonel, he felt his stomach knot and twist. Before him knelt a man that was nearly broken, his unseeing eyes wide and frightened like a child's.

He had mentioned the Lieutenant multiple times in his tirade, begging to be taken back to her. It didn't take much for Edward to know that something had happened; something that compromised the Colonel's entire being…

Edward suddenly felt his stomach drop entirely. A man desperate to return to the one fated for him, all the while unseeing. Without his sight, how would he be able to—

"Welcome, my precious sacrifices."

Jerking his head around toward the one deemed "Father," Edward narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. It would be some time before he would be able to fulfill Mustang's request. But with Truth as his witness, he would be damned if he didn't.

For the moment, however, he could only silently hope that Hawkeye was still up there, fighting and advancing along with the rest of the men. Not just for her sake, but for the Colonel's as well.

* * *

" _So which one is your favorite," Roy asked as he scooched closer, watching Riza peer down at the color palette in her lap._

 _She pursed her lips together and stared down at the chart of colors for a few moments. Then she pressed her finger against one of the darker swatches labeled 'Midnight' and said, "I'd have to say blue."_

" _Ah, good choice," Roy said in approval. "I agree."_

" _What's yours?"_

 _He had expected her to follow up with the question. Without hesitation, Roy swept his finger over the page until he nearly reached the bottom. Tapping his finger over his color of choice, he said, "This one."_

 _Riza furrowed her brow and held the paper closer to her face in order to better see it in the candle's light. When she identified it, she shot him a curious look. "Brown? I thought you said you hated it."_

 _Roy shook his head. "I said that I wasn't fond of that brown sweater of mine. And this shade," he said as he tapped it again, "Is more to my liking."_

 _She wrinkled her nose. "And why brown of all colors?"_

" _Because," he said as he leaned forward and peered into her eyes, "Your eyes are brown and they were one of the first colors I saw."_

 _When she processed what he had said, she looked down at the swatch he had pointed to and ran her thumb over the color palette, trying to hide the tinge of red that touched her cheeks. After repeating the motion a few times, she turned her glance toward him again and said, "Honestly?"_

" _Of course," Roy replied as he felt his own cheeks grow warm. "And aside from that, brown is also the color of the bark on the trees around here, and the amazing hot cocoa you make." Knitting his fingers together, he set them in his lap and looked down at them. "So in a way… It also reminds me of home."_

 _She chuckled, prompting him to look up at her. When she saw that she had drawn his attention back to her, Riza shook her head and muttered, "I can't believe it…"_

" _Can't believe what," he asked with trepidation, suddenly feeling embarrassed by his confession._

" _Well," she began bashfully, "I said blue because your eyes have that sort of tone, at least to me. They almost look like they could be black, but they're not quite. It was something I noticed about them when I first saw you." She shrugged her shoulders and looked at him again with a faint smile. "It's just funny how we both are so drawn to each other's eyes."_

 _After recovering from his initial alarm, Roy grinned and said, "Well, the eyes are the window to the soul, after all."_

* * *

Reaching up, Roy pressed his fingers against the skin beneath his eyes and squinted as a shot of pain tore through him. Remembering that time physically hurt him. Remembering that time when they had been innocent, completely unaware of the trials and tribulations that would befall them years later.

But drawing on those memories was the only thing keeping him sane as what seemed to be a full-blown war raged around him and his darkness. He had to hold onto that single shred of hope that she was still alive. Roy had seen sparks of brown in her eyes moments before the transmutation circle was activated.

The details after that, though critical, were fuzzy to him. The room he found himself in shortly thereafter was composed of shades of black and white, distorting his senses and robbing him of the notion of color entirely. Had he not been so emotionally compromised at the time, Roy would have thought to look down at the blood that stained his still aching hands.

Reaching up, he absently rubbed his hands together as another explosion rocked him while he was down on his knees. When he tried to rise to his feet once more, he quickly crumbled, sagging to his knees again as his lack of sight betrayed him. It figured, he thought bitterly to himself, because not only was he emotionally ruined, but physically as well.

He jolted when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Before he could react further, however, a familiar voice immediately put him at ease.

"Hey Mustang," Edward Elric muttered as he gripped his shoulder tighter, "I'm going to send you with Izumi, my former alchemy teacher. She'll take you to the surface."

"And what will you do," he replied with a hoarse whisper.

"No time to explain," the youth replied as he eased Roy to his feet. "Just assume that I'll be finishing up business down here. Right now everyone else needs to focus on what's going on up there," he added as another explosion rocked them.

"Hello Colonel," a voice soothed as another set of hands found his arm. "I'll be taking over now."

"Thank you," he replied half-heartedly, "Though I apologize; I'm not always this useless."

"There's no need to apologize," Izumi murmured.

"Take Mustang and find the Lieutenant," Edward whispered as Roy was handed over to Izumi.

She guided him into a sitting position and said, "Just hang tight, alright Colonel? I'll make sure we find your Lieutenant." He heard her slap her hands on the ground, and moments later it shifted beneath them. As they slowly rose up into the air, she asked, "What does she look like?"

"Blonde," he answered hollowly, "Blonde with brown eyes."

"Alright," she replied, a forced smile in her voice, "We'll find her."

Roy simply nodded in reply, instead using the remainder of his energy to hone in on their surroundings. As they climbed higher and higher, he could hear multiple explosions and gunshots ringing out above them. An entirely different war was raging above them; one he had disregarded until that moment. Until then he had only been focused on the one raging inside of him.

"Izumi!"

The ground beneath him came to a halt as Izumi shouted, "Honey!"

An empty void began to form in Roy's gut upon hearing their pleasant exchange. No doubt they were married, or at the very least lovers. Judging by her tone, he half-expected Izumi to abandon him on their platform to race to her other half. Instead he was surprised to feel her arm being snaked around his, urging him to rise to his feet. As he obeyed, he heard her utter, "Are you…?"

"Yes." The voice was gravelly and ill-defined at first, and yet it still caused his heart to somersault. But then, the faintest dapples of red spotted the darkness Roy had started to become accustomed to. And accompanying them was that same voice, which rang with more familiarity…

"Colonel…?"

This time the voice – her voice - was louder, more real; reds and golds began to blossom from the black void as she spoke.

"L… Lieutenant?"

"Are you injured?" Spots of worried blue speckled the warm colors in front of his eyes.

He paused, feeling as though it were a dream. He had seen her bleeding out before his very eyes. The colors had completely faded from his world. Roy wanted to question how that was possible and yet… And yet at the same time he didn't. He wanted to accept it as fact and instead marvel in it and worship the fact that she was alive.

Reaching out into the darkness, he felt for something tangible; something to tell him that she really was there and—

When he felt a set of hands delicately weave themselves around his fingers, his body voided itself of the tension he had wracked up, and his knees buckled.

Her hands quickly glided up his arms to grip his biceps as she sank down to the ground with him. She murmured his rank again, the worried blues and unsettled wisps of purple from her tone swirled in his vision.

Roy ran his fingers along her arms until they found her shoulders, and then moved his aching hands to cup her face in them, solidifying her in her entirety. There was no denying it. This was her. Riza Hawkeye. His light, his soulmate, his everything.

"Sir," she whispered as she shifted, her fingers brushing against his arms as she pitched forward, "You eyes…"

At that moment his eyes were the very least of his worries. Still enamored by her voice, her warmth, her colors, he moved his hands down to her shoulders and pulled her into himself, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her into a tight embrace.

Riza tensed, her body no doubt reacting to the unfamiliar public display of physical contact. A beat later, however, she threw caution to the wing and wove her arms around him, steadying them as Roy gripped her tighter still.

"I thought you were gone," he whispered into her ear. Already he could feel the tension in his chest lessen, the tendrils of doubt and fear that wound themselves around his heart had begun to loosen and give.

He heard her exhale, her grip on him becoming looser as the words sank in. Up until the moment he heard her voice, he was convinced that she had died. Roy wanted nothing more than to remain with her there, holding her until he was convinced that she wasn't just a figment of his imagination.

Then her grip became tighter as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry to have worried you, sir."

Roy nearly thought to laugh. How typical was it of her to think of him and his feelings, even though it had been her lying in a pool of her own blood?

"Riza, how—" An explosion from somewhere above them brought cut him off, reminding him that, while their world hadn't ended, the one around them still hung in the balance. She must have sensed his realization, for she drew away from him at the same time he drew away from her.

Roy cleared his throat to try and establish a more formal air. "Lieutenant, are you still able to fight?"

He felt her shoulders tense and then relax as she silently assessed herself. Then, she definitively replied, "Yes, sir," illuminating the darkness with brighter hues, as reds, oranges, and yellows danced in front of his eyes.

* * *

A battle of the ages they had called it. Roy could listen to retellings of the decisive battle between Edward and the one that called himself Father again and again and still never fully develop his own reformulation of the duel. Because to him, he had already seen it in perfect clarity.

While the battle raged on, her voice never faltered, giving him the play by play as splotches of orange and a myriad of gold streaks illuminated the darkness before his eyes.

And then, when it was all over, there was complete and utter silence. She did not move; she did not tense. Her voice did not reach his ears, nor did she make any attempt to speak to him. Instead her hand found his arm and moved up until she was gripping his bicep, pulling herself closer to him.

Swallowing the thickness that had begun to form in his throat, he uttered, "Did… Did we win?"

"… Yes, sir," she replied, immediately returning to a sense of formality, as if she were clinging to a something that was familiar. While he appreciated the gesture, he knew that it was not for his comfort. Her tone spoke of defeat, her words laced with droplets of blues and greys that speckled the darkness that was laid out before him.

He opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it when she quietly murmured, "But… Alphonse has not returned from the other side."

Roy felt a tightness form in his chest. After all that… After all they worked for. How hard they fought. In the end, Alphonse had given his life in exchange for Edward's, casting aside the most primitive fears associated with that godforsaken Gate. Unless someone attempted to access the Gate, Alphonse would be lost to them forever…

"Isn't there anything we can do, sir," he heard Major Armstrong sob to his left.

Roy pursed his lips, but then sighed. "To perform human transmutation and open the portal, a toll is required. The last time he tried, Fullmetal sacrificed his right arm and was only able to bring back Alphonse's soul. But bringing back an entire human being is another matter all together."

Riza gasped. "You don't think Edward is planning to sacrifice himself…"

"No," Roy replied as he shook his head and shook away the spots of grey that were floating through his field of vision. "He's already experienced the terror and despair of being left behind, alone. He would never subject Alphonse to that."

"Then… what do you think he'll do," she asked as she leaned into him again, causing him to tighten his grip on her.

Staring into the darkness and toward the sound of the boy's voice as he argued with someone unknown to Roy, he muttered, "I don't know…"

He felt her shift. "Wait… He's drawing a transmutation circle on the ground," she gasped.

"He's what?" Roy's eyes grew wide as he jerked his head toward the boy, just as he heard him announce that it would be his last transmutation. The clap of a pair of hands echoed through the air and the ground shook as alchemical energy surged beneath their feet.

When the energy had settled and their footing returned, Riza murmured, "He's… gone."

"Gone," Roy echoed as he stared toward the epicenter of alchemic energy they had felt moments before.

"Yes," she replied uneasily, eliciting sparks of uncertain green danced in his field of vision.

"What else was in the circle with him," he asked, trying to keep his voice level.

"Nothing," she answered. "Just… him."

"He transmuted himself," Roy breathed as his mind began to turn. The idea had been something unheard of in alchemy. Human transmutation was one thing, but transmuting _yourself_ was absurd. What had Edward hoped to gain by doing so? Unless he really was planning on sacrificing himself for his younger brother…

Roy's stomach twisted uncomfortably as he pushed the thought away. He wouldn't allow himself to think like that. The boy clearly had something up his sleeve that was clearly unknown to the rest of them.

At this point, all they could do was sit and wait…

They didn't have to wait long, however. Within moments of Roy's last thoughts on the matter, a burst of alchemical energy surged beneath their feet again and sparks cracked through the air. Before the transmutation was completed, and before Riza could begin to give him a rundown on the matter, Roy took a step forward and asked, "Did he… Is he…?"

Cheers erupted around them, drowning out Riza's initial answer. She leaned into him, her lips hovering just above his ear and repeated, "Edward _and_ Alphonse have returned. Both of them intact."

Feeling a swell of pride within him, Roy took a step toward the commotion. Riza took over and began to slowly guide him there, cautiously weaving him through a field of debris. But the closer they walked, the more Riza leaned against him for support, and the slower their steps became.

Finally, when they had gotten within earshot of a cluster of people, Riza stopped and leaned into Roy's side. "Lieutenant?" When she didn't answer and continued to sink into him, Roy hastily lowered her to the ground and moved her onto his lap. "Riza…-"

He felt a massive hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look up and into the darkness.

"It's alright, Colonel," Major Armstrong rumbled in reassurance. "It would seem that the combined excitement and extent of her injuries caused a lapse of lightheadedness. Nothing some fluids and medical attention couldn't fix." Kneeling down next to them, Armstrong pried Riza from Roy's grasp and lifted her away from him. "I would suggest that you get your injuries checked out as well, Colonel, though I understand your desire to address the Elric brothers—"

Roy was instantly on his feet in protest, gripping the Major's massive bicep in an attempt to hold him there. "No," he answered, "I'll go with you. I'd prefer to stay with the Lieutenant."

"Of course, Colonel," the Major answered as he lowered his free arm for Roy to grasp more firmly, "Follow my lead."

Wrapping his arm beneath the Major's, Roy clumsily reached out with his other until he found Riza cradled in Armstrong's other arm. He felt around until he found her hand, gently grasping it as a wave of uncertainty flooded him, reminding him of the extent of her injuries… and how close he had been to losing her.

Feeling the Major shift and move, Roy fell into step beside him, the realization clouding and consuming his thoughts as he gripped her hand tighter and tighter.

* * *

After what seemed like countless hours of prodding and poking and exam after exam, Roy and Riza were at last left alone for a 'peaceful' night's sleep. However, Roy soon realized, he was left alone with his tumultuous thoughts. Long gone was the notion of sleep for Roy as he lied on his back, staring up into the darkness; the silence of their hospital room was deafening.

They had both been given clean bills of health… for the most part. While Riza still had evidence of hairline fractures in her hand and would require gentle nurturing for her patched up neck, Roy still found that he was uneasy about her prognosis. After all, his last vision of her had been of her lying in a pool of her own blood, his world tainted black and white.

No longer able to take it, he decided as he sat up, he would see if his roommate was in the same mental state as he. "Lieutenant," he quietly called as he swung his legs over the side of his bed and planted them onto the floor. He paused and strained to listen. When he didn't hear anything, he uttered, "Riza…?"

This time he heard her shift and roll over. "Roy," she murmured, her voice still gravelly and rough from sleep. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he answered a little too quickly, shaking his head. "I was just checking to see if you were still awake. It's admittedly hard falling asleep after everything that happened."

"It is," she agreed softly as swirls of pink and red dotted his vision.

He smiled and eased his way off of the bed, prompting her to throw the covers off of her body and leap to her feet. The sudden change in position must have thrown her balance off, because moments later he felt her stumble into him.

Reaching up, he found and grasped her biceps and steadied her. "A little eager there, aren't we?"

"I'm sorry," she muttered into his shoulder. "I guess I'm still not one hundred percent." When she drew back, however, it was only at half an arm's length. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he admitted, "A bit restless, but I'm alright."

"I'm glad," she murmured back.

He shifted his weight toward her bed. "Do you want to lie back down?"

He felt her tense before she quietly responded, "No… I'm fine."

Roy frowned. Amidst the pinks and reds were speckles of melancholic dark blues. The underlying worry in her voice was barely enough for him to distinguish, but it was definitely there. "What's wrong?"

He felt her body tense and he was confident that she pursed her lips thoughtfully. After a few moments of silence, she replied, her voice controlled and even. "What do you mean?"

Roy shook his head. "I know you, Riza. I know when there's something wrong."

He heard her sigh, causing sparks of green and yellow to dot his darkness. After a few moments of silence, she uttered, "I couldn't protect you. Despite everything that happened, I still couldn't pull myself together enough to stop what happened. And then," she continued softly, "And then when you vanished, the colors did too. It wasn't like the battle with Lust when they faded and returned over and over again. This was instantaneous.

"Until they returned moments later, I was convinced you had been killed… And every ounce of me blamed myself. So many things went wrong down in those tunnels. If I had moved a little faster, or checked my guns one last time before we left, I wouldn't have been used against you like that."

The reds and pinks that danced before his eyes vanished entirely to be replaced by droplets of blue that dappled his vision like rain.

"And what happened to your hands, and the circle," she continued as her voice faltered. "I had another weapon hidden away. I should have used it. I should have overcome my instinct and drawn it."

He could feel her arms trembling as her deepest confessions continued to spill from her lips. How she should have disregarded her worth to remover her hand from her bleeding throat. How she should have used her blood-stained hands to eliminate Bradley right there.

How she should have essentially ended her own life in order to save his.

Moving his hands from her forearms, he blindly reached up and found her cheeks, cupping her face in his hands. And just like the bespeckled droplets that dotted his vision, he could feel tangible beads of wetness on her cheeks. As he brushed them away with his thumbs, she uttered, "And your eyes…"

"That's enough," he quietly chided as he pushed another tear away with his thumb. "You know just as well as I that there was nothing either one of us could have done to change this. They were going to get what they wanted, one way or another."

"It doesn't change the fact that I still could not uphold my promise," she whispered.

"And I'm glad you didn't… You talk about how you should have sacrificed yourself for my sake, but what you didn't realize was that after that, it would have been all over. Those moments you described before: your confrontation with Lust and when I went through the portal… That would be my reality. Every day I would have to wake up burdened with the knowledge that you would be gone. Reminded every single waking moment that the reason why my world became cold and still was because the one I love and cherish most would be gone." Bowing forward, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers, feeling the warmth of her breath tickle his lips. "And before you say that it's your job, I want to remind you that I also told you I couldn't afford to lose you."

She exhaled slowly and leaned into him and whispered, "It is my job, Roy. You know the resolve of a bodyguard. If there is a choice between the life of a subordinate or superior, you know the path I would choice."

"And now I'm telling you to forgo that path… And choose to _live_."

"Roy," she began to counter, spotting his darkness with burgundy.

"I won't accept anything less," he cut in, shaking his head slightly to dissipate the spots of doubt. "Because I need you now more than ever. You are the way I see the world now."

"I… Don't think I follow," she admitted in reply as she redistributed her weight and moved a fraction of an inch away from him; just enough that their foreheads were no longer touching, but close enough that he could still feel her breath.

Feeling the corners of his lips turn upward, Roy began, "Through your words and your emotions I have been able to see again." When he heard a sharp intake of breath, he shook his head slightly and continued, "Not in forms and shapes, but in in colors and hues. Every audible sigh and gasp, every sentence and word brings with it a flash of color.

"The moment I heard you utter my rank was the moment it happened, and it has only happened with you every time since. You are the one tying me to this world after I had lost all hope of ever being a part of it again. And _you_ are the one that still continues to cast light and color onto an otherwise drab existence.

"So please… Please stay with me …"

Riza's grip on his hands slowly loosened until they slid off and left him standing without any contact. Feeling an overwhelming bout of anxiety, Roy reached out and clumsily groped for her, desperate for her anchor once more. When his hand brushed against her hospital gown, she took a step closer to him and carefully wound her arms around him, resting one on his shoulder while the other entwined itself through the hair on the nape of his neck.

Roy instinctively wrapped his arms around her and drew her closer to him, tightening his grip as she rested her chin on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispered in tones of blue and grey, answering his question before it escaped his lips. "I only thought about you at that moment in time without even considering the repercussions of those actions… Not even considering what would happen with the future."

Roy sighed and gave her a gentle squeeze. "It's alright," he breathed. "I don't blame you for reacting that way. If I had been in that position, I probably would have done the same thing."

Her grip on him loosened, though she did not pull away, baffling Roy. "What else is wrong," he asked softly as he readjusted his grip on her, reluctant to let her go.

He heard her quietly exhale, relaxing slightly in his grip as she silently mulled over her words. After a few moments, she raised her head from his shoulder and murmured, "What you said before about seeing my what I was saying… Is that true?"

He felt a smile touch his lips as muted whirls of pink and red danced in his darkness. As he loosened his grip on her and allowed her to step back, he felt his smile broaden. "It is," he replied. "And just now I could hear and see the love and hope in your words.

"So I'm not blind," he continued as he slowly reached up and found her cheek, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face. "In fact, I think I can see better now than I ever did before." As she chuckled softly and shook her head, he added, "And it's because of you."

"Because of me," she echoed as she rested her palm against his hand, her tone as warm as the colors that illuminated his darkness.

"Yes, because of you," he reiterated with a smile. "Which brings me back to my original question.

"Will you stay?"

She wrapped her fingers around his hand and pressed his palm closer to her cheek, leaning into his warmth. After a few moments, she murmured, "Of course. And I will continue to follow you… Even into hell."

Roy closed his eyes and let go a sigh of relief. "I'm glad," he replied, "Because I wasn't sure what I was going to do if my subordinate _and_ soulmate was going to leave me in the dark."

She lightly scoffed. "You know that wouldn't happen."

He smiled as his head dipped forward and found hers. "I know," he finally admitted.

Roy heard her exhale again, confident by the brightly colored hues it elicited that he had at least made her smile. "I love you," he whispered, allowing the fairly foreign words to almost effortlessly roll off his tongue.

"And I love you," she murmured back as he felt the warmth of her breath against his lips, once again prompting him to remember the knots and twists he had felt earlier. How terrified he had been of losing her, and how he felt after realizing again just how close he had really been.

But when his lips brushed up against hers, he was once again brought back to reality and the realization that, while he had been close to losing her, she wasn't lost to him. She was there and alive and in front of him, as tangible and concrete as ever. And as he leaned into her and pressed his lips against hers and solidified her realness, illuminations of the entire spectrum of color burst before his eyes and and expelled his darkness.


End file.
